LakeStationIN, 2008
Lake Station’s story
174 years in pictures
Census counts: 170 in 1880, 13,235 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 2008 and 4 maps from 1953 on.
- 1852Lake Station is settled
Lake StationIN
5 bordering townsMap →
Photo: JoeyBLS (talk) · Public domain
Population
12,977
2025 Census estimate · −2.2% since 2020
Typical home
$160K
+1.5% in a year
Household income
$60K
median
Median age
33.5
years
Jobs based here
1,284
A commuter town
TownGrade
C−
#527 of 585 in IN
Is Lake Station a good place to live?
Lake Station gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $160K, 1.8 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. It grades C− overall, 527th among Indiana's 585 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 90% of the country and its public schools trail 77% of Indiana towns on state tests and graduation. 7.5% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Lake Station, where Indiana’s towns sit at 22% and U.S. towns at 29%. The biggest park or preserve is Calumet Prairie State Nature Preserve, at 151 acres.
What makes Lake Station stand out
Where Lake Station beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
A commuter town
96% of working residents leave Lake Station for work
Where Lake Station’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
1,284jobs based in Lake Station
4%of working residents work in town
12 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Lake Station grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Lake Station is from typical.
HealthSt. Mary Medical Center 4.4 miles awayDOpen →Cost of livingA−Open →SchoolsC−Open →Jobs & income$60K median household incomeCOpen →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 39% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listBOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 7.8 of 20; 7.9% of households have no car; 1.7% of workers walk, bike or ride transitB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors3 miles of trails; 5% conserved landB+Open →History1 notable person born hereC−Open →Civic life1.3 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsCOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Climate–Open →Housing market30 days on market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 33.5; 7% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Nearby attractions
All 167 attractions →Soldier Field and 131 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lake Station. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw33 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw23 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
in town National ParkIndiana Dunes National Park2.6M visitors a year
Big draw26 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw30 mi Stadium & arenaUnited CenterSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Soldier Field: Photo by Joon Han Contact: [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · Barack Obama Presidential Center: AlphaBeta135, CC0 · Indiana Dunes National Park: J. Crocker, Attribution · Rate Field: User Enoch Lai on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · United Center: User:JeremyA, CC BY-SA 2.5
_-_Chicago,_IL_-_June_2026.jpg){kind=link}
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Lake Station: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lake Station, and how to reach them.
PowerNIPSCO22.1¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterIndiana American Water - NorthwestNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Lake Station’s trash rules yet
SchoolsLake Station Community SchoolsRiver Forest Community School Corporation2 districts serve Lake Station; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn Indiana you can register online until 29 days before Election Day, in person until 29 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 29 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereLake County Board of Elections & RegistrationLake County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jul 2021
ZIP codes46405, 4634246405 88% · 46342 12%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Lake Station.
Lake Station has homes that are cheap against local pay and sends most of its workers to Chicago and beyond, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
#143for trails in IN
| Lake Station | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 4.7% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
4.7%
conserved · 250 of 5,362 acres
3.2 mi
of trails · 0.4 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Riverview Park | 0.6 mi | 24 |
| 2. Calumet Prairie State Nature Preserve | — | 151 |
| 3. Indiana Dunes National Park | — | 137 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
HealthD
Lake Station stands out in Indiana and nationally, with more of its adults who sleep under 7 hours
43% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Lake Station. Lake Station beats the Indiana average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 21% of adults smoke cigarettes in Lake Station.
10%healthier than U.S. townsDHealth Grade
| Lake Station | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 37% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 17% | 14% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 21% | 19% |
32 measures vs. Indiana
2 better13 too close to call17 worse
| What stands out | Lake Station | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7% | 8.3% |
| Fewer adults with high cholesterol | 34.7% | 37.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 14.6% | 8.9% |
St. Mary Medical Center
4.4 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
8th
percentile among IN towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
HousingCost of living grade A−
For cost of living, Lake Station earns an A−
At 1.8 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income, the typical home (about $160K) costs less against local pay than in 95% of Indiana towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living.
The typical Lake Station home is worth about $160,000, up 1.5% in a year, 38% below the Indiana typical home.
$160KZillow home value
| Lake Station | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,124 a month | $946 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 76% | 73% |
Typical home value
Lake Station$160K
Indiana$257K
Market temperature
30
days on market
99.1%
sale-to-list price
+1.5%
value change, 1 year
11
homes sold in May
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C
Most working residents commute out of Lake Station
Lake Station has 1,284 jobs for its 5,570 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Lake Station for work: only 4% work in town. 15% of Lake Station residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Lake Station has lost 313 jobs, to 1,284 in 2023.
4%work in town
| Lake Station | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 4.4% | 7.8% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.1% | 11% | 8% |
| Median household income | $60,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Lake Station4%
Chicago9%
Portage7%
Gary7%
Hobart7%
12 mi
median commute distance
1,284
jobs based in Lake Station
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
B−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Lake Station
Lake Station has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 18° and about 40 inches of snow falls in a winter.
40″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter20–35°
Spring38–59°
Summer61–82°
Fall43–63°
Oct 27
typical first frost
Apr 22
typical last frost
+1.2°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade B
Low risk in Lake Station, with inland flooding at the top
110 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 24 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 61% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 110 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lake Station.
39risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold wavesTornadoes
110
paid flood claims since 1979
11
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Lake Station
19pages on Lake Station
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
4 within 15 miles of the center of Lake Station
Indiana University-NorthwestUniversity or college · Public · Gary4.6 mi$8,424 in-state tuitionPurdue University NorthwestUniversity or college · Public · Hammond11.5 mi$8,675 in-state tuitionValparaiso UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Valparaiso13.5 mi$48,450 tuition
About 4 of every 100 Lake Station residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
About Lake Station
City in Indiana, United States
Lake Station is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 13,235 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 8.4 sq mi
- Elevation
- 620 ft
- ZIP code
- 46405
- Area code
- 219
Lake Station’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Lake Station.
HobartGaryNew ChicagoHobart TownshipCalumet TownshipLake Station
How the neighbors grade
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Station | #527 | C− | A− | — | C− | D |
| Hobart | #439 | C+ | B | C | B− | C+ |
| Gary | #585 | D− | A− | D− | D− | D− |
| New Chicago | — | — | A− | — | C− | D− |
| Hobart Township | #461 | C+ | A− | — | C+ | C− |
| Calumet Township | #573 | D | A− | — | D− | D− |
New Chicago has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Lake Station, New Chicago, Hobart Township and Calumet Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Lake Station with a neighbor →
Questions about Lake Station
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Lake Station, IN a good place to live?
Lake Station grades C− overall, better than 23% of U.S. towns and #527 of 585 in Indiana. It grades D for health and C− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Lake Station, IN expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.